Monterey Zoo & Vision Quest

04/08/2024

For many of us who work with exotic animals, visiting zoos inspired our careers—and continue to be sources of joy.

Zoos are important to their communities and their local economy. When they are impacted by adverse events, the response work conducted by the ZDR3 Network of zoo and aquarium professionals aims to help them on the pathway toward recovery and reopening.

Every year, about 175 million people visit a zoo to observe and learn about the animals in their care. We appreciate the zoo personnel who tend the animals and the facilities; and who make the magic happen for their visitors every day.

Happy National Zoo Lovers Day to everyone who delights in meeting magnificent animals!

We are Stronger Together

03/31/2024

Happy Easter from all of us to all of you… 🐣 🐰 🥚

03/21/2024

Thank you to our Tier 3 Sponsors: Texas State Aquarium, Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, and Monterey Zoo & Vision Quest!

Sponsors dedicated to our cause make it possible for ZDR3 to carry out the mission of providing aid to zoological facilities, aquariums, and sanctuaries prior to, during, and following disasters and crises.

We are Stronger Together

03/21/2024

03/18/2024

03/13/2024

“Parking” has a bit different meaning at Monterey Zoo as every day, at approx the same time, on schedule… the “boys” 🦏🦏🦏 pull up, back-in and park in the same place. ❤️

03/05/2024

The “Cafeteria” line at Monterey Zoo is a bit different than most cafeterias…
🦏❤️🦓❤️🐃❤️ (We need to petition FB for a wildebeest emoji !)

02/26/2024

Call it whatcha want, we’re goin with “camelid rugby” at Monterey Zoo 😜🏉🐪🦙❤️

02/25/2024

“Leon” sure does love kids that love lizards… ❤️🦎

02/03/2024

Thank-you ALL so very much for voting Monterey Zoo as your 2024 "Family Favorite" in the NONPROFIT SERVING FAMILIES category. This one actually means a LOT to us as we feel one of the most important things that a zoo does in a community is bring families together as just that, a FAMILY, and Monterey Bay Parent Magazine embodies those same values. Be sure to grab a free copy in our zoo gift shop on your next visit, hopefully SOON!!!

Thank-you to Monterey Bay Parent Magazine for hosting this contest and making our zoo fans an even bigger part of our success.

01/24/2024

Thanku ZDR3, it was truthfully an honor and a tremendous experience for our team.
I highly recommend for ALL zoos to participate in this program, for the sake of the animals and your staff. It’s simply the right thing to do in our industry!

01/14/2024

Thanku so very much to the Zoological Association of America, of which Monterey Zoo is accredited, for this special award and recognition. We could not be more proud or appreciative. ❤️🦏

01/10/2024

Hope you’ll find the time to click in the links and vote for Monterey Zoo
🙏❤️🦏🦁🐻🐯🐪🐅🐵🦅🐗🐍

MONTEREY BAY PARENT is a part of the Monterey County Community that is very near and dear to our hearts as they place an emphasis on that which is so important to us at Monterey Zoo, "FAMILY"! That made our being voted a "Family Favorite" even more special to us in 2023 and we sincerely hope you'll help us achieve that goal again in 2024 by simply clicking on this link: https://montereybayparent.bestinvoting.com/ and casting your vote for Monterey Zoo in the several categories it has been nominated for. Then perhaps you could share this post to encourage others to do the same...

You've probably seen a common slogan in several of our ads, "...a place where families can once again interact as just that, a family..." which exactly what Monterey Zoo strives to be.
In a forever changing world that continues to challenge and stress our kids and our families, we will continue to promote the value of "family" as well as to support the efforts of Monterey Bay Parent as we feel they do the same.

Please vote at https://montereybayparent.bestinvoting.com/
Please share...

01/03/2024

Once again we very much THANK Brad and Laurie Martin, publishers of Greet HWY 68 LOOP magazine for both recognizing and supporting our efforts to further wildlife conservation as well as wildlife education in our community.

Please, visit the Greet HWY 68 LOOP page
at https://www.facebook.com/greethwy68loop and like all they do for our community. Be sure to check out their website also at
https://greetmag.com/locations/hwy-68-loop-ca/ .
Together, WE CAN make a difference...

01/01/2024

Don’t forget to cast your vote for Monterey’s Zoo with Monterey Bay Parent ~ 2024.

Please vote at https://montereybayparent.bestinvoting.com/
Please share...

12/28/2023

MONTEREY BAY PARENT is a part of the Monterey County Community that is very near and dear to our hearts as they place an emphasis on that which is so important to us at Monterey Zoo, "FAMILY"! That made our being voted a "Family Favorite" even more special to us in 2023 and we sincerely hope you'll help us achieve that goal again in 2024 by simply clicking on this link: https://montereybayparent.bestinvoting.com/ and casting your vote for Monterey Zoo in the several categories it has been nominated for. Then perhaps you could share this post to encourage others to do the same...

You've probably seen a common slogan in several of our ads, "...a place where families can once again interact as just that, a family..." which exactly what Monterey Zoo strives to be.
In a forever changing world that continues to challenge and stress our kids and our families, we will continue to promote the value of "family" as well as to support the efforts of Monterey Bay Parent as we feel they do the same.

Please vote at https://montereybayparent.bestinvoting.com/
Please share...

12/21/2023

A very special THANK-YOU to Steve and Kelli of Carmel Magazine, who continue to make this special event at Monterey Zoo, even more special to the many who attend and contribute to our efforts to bring the children of Monterey County the animal and conservation education so very much deserve. Steve and Kelli have supported our efforts from the very beginning and are part of the reason Monterey Zoo has evolved into the world-class accredited zoological experience it is today.

12/08/2023

And that's a wrap, signed~sealed~delivered and hopefully helping rhinos in both Africa and Indonesia soon!!! Just another special thank-you to the generous Monterey Zoo donors who attended our event and were obviously touched by the program enough to support both International Rhino Foundation and Care for Wild Rhino Sanctuary. YOU made a difference!!!

12/05/2023

Monterey Zoo was honored to host the Annual Christmas Party for Pacific Ag Rentals and STAR Sanitation of Salinas this past weekend. Most (if not all) non-profit and charity based organizations in Monterey County have benefited from the generosity of Bart and Wendy Walker who bring these companies to our community. Monterey Zoo is certainly one of them.
This event defined the true meaning of family as well as the magic of Christmas.
🎅🎄
Hosting such events also very much benefits the animals at Monterey Zoo. Thanku to Bart, Wendy and the entire PAC-STAR family.

11/28/2023

11/28/2023

Every rhino brings new hope. Tomorrow, November 28th, IRF will celebrate Giving Tuesday, a global day of generosity. Thanks to the support of Team Rhino members and supporters, there is hope for rhinos. Though global rhino population numbers are still dire, new rhino births in Indonesia and increasing black and white rhino populations in Africa are a testament to what we can do when we all work together.
Because of this, two generous, long-time IRF supporters have agreed to match every gift made through Giving Tuesday. Donate now to triple your impact for rhinos! 🦏🦏🦏

https://buff.ly/46vBNH3

11/27/2023

Monterey Zoo is still in-fact a brand new zoo, navigating its survival in a very difficult small business landscape as well as an even more difficult geographic environment. But with the incredibly kind and generous help of a community that recognizes how important it is for our kids to receive the animal and conservation minded education they so very much deserve, we are doing just that, surviving!

Even more important, we are "evolving" as hoped, which we were once again reminded of this week. Every zoo's goal is (and should be) to reach a point where they can contribute to world-wide conservation efforts. Monterey Zoo is no different. In 2022, we introduced our "Conservation Hall" project in an attempt to do just that.

All who visit Monterey Zoo receive a 25-cent refund in the form of a wooden quarter which they can then place in a receptacle located in the hall leading into our zoo. Each receptacle represents a non-profit conservation effort, dedicated to saving a particular species and/or habitat. We are currently displaying over forty of these organizations that we feel our worthy of our/your support.

Today we forwarded our second round of contributions from this projects to the organizations our visitors chose for their quarters to go to. We are very proud to say that our total contribution from this project has now exceeded $11,000.00.

As we are still a new zoo and as our attendance continues to grow, we look forward to amplifying our donations to these very deserving organizations, thanks to the many who visit Monterey Zoo. We hope other zoos will consider a similar campaign, allowing their visitors to contribute to the animals that are nearest and dearest to their hearts.

11/27/2023

Having only just recently introduced this organization and project to our zoo's donor base, this comes to us as the most incredible gift of all this holiday season. It was only two short weeks ago during our "Saving Rhinos" Event at Monterey Zoo that our donors learned of a possible birth coming in December. Today that possibility is a reality but more important, it is a "hope"; a hope that we can actually save this very threatened species from extinction.

PLEASE continue to support this incredible effort by helping the only way we can, by helping fund their tremendous efforts and continued success. This species IS on the brink of extinction and very deserving of our help. IRF is getting it done!!!

Here's the link: https://rhinos.org/donate/ It couldn't be more simple to make such an important impact on our planet.

Please, SHARE, SHARE, SHARE!!!

Indonesia’s second historic rhino birth of the year at the Way Kambas National Park facility Release via: Plt. Kepala Balai Taman Nasional Way Kambas Hermawan – +085775904734 JAKARTA, INDONE…

11/23/2023

Looking for something fun, exciting, educational and healthy to do with the family Thanksgiving weekend? Come visit “Larry”, “Moe” and “Curly”, our newly arrived African Blue Wildebeest now sharing our Savanah Exhibit with our rhinos, zebra and buffalo at Monterey Zoo.
They’ve changed the entire energy level in this awesome habitat. 🦏🐃🦓

Special thanks to our friends at Fossil Rim in Texas for helping make our new arrivals possible.

11/22/2023

We feel very proud and confident today, announcing that Monterey Zoo will be forwarding a check for $105,000.00 to benefit International Rhino Foundation, IRF Indonesia Project and CARE For WILD Rhino Sanctuary in Africa. This amount represents ALL donations received from our recent "Saving Rhinos" event held at the zoo on 11/11/2023.
It is with even more pride that we share the attached messages we've received from our friends and fellow conservation partners at Int. Rhino Foundation and CARE for WILD. These messages are what remind us of why we do what we do. They are our greatest reward and therefore worth sharing with all who made them possible, our incredibly caring and generous Monterey Zoo donors and supporters.
YOU are who we invited to this event, YOU are who contributed to this total number that in fact, exceeded what we'd hoped for. THANK-YOU ALL so much!

Finally and once again, THANK-YOU to our "boots on the ground" heroes at Int. Rhino Fdn. and CARE for WILD, for your kind words and most of all, for all you do to care for and protect this incredibly precious and iconic species that are so very much a part of our hearts today.

11/19/2023

A huge hug and a shoutout to the Daisys, Brownies and Jrs of Girlscout Troop 30693 who dawned their plastic and braved the weather to visit the animals at Monterey Zoo today 🦏❤️🦁❤️🐯❤️🐻❤️🐵
We and the animals couldn’t appreciate you more. 🌹

11/14/2023

It was an ABSOLUTE HONOR to host "An Afternoon of Saving RHINOS" at Monterey Zoo on November 11, 2023. The goal this evening was to introduce our donors and supporters to the "boots on the ground" ambassadors that are protecting the future of rhinos in Indonesia and Africa.

This event was also aimed at introducing a fundraising template that the Monterey Zoo Board of Directors hopes will be well received and considered by other zoos across the country. Although it was to benefit rhino conservation organizations worldwide, the audience at this event was largely comprised of supporters from the Monterey Zoo's donor list, a list that most non-profit organizations are very protective of in order to keep themselves afloat. But on this one afternoon/evening, the Monterey Zoo list was shared in the interest of true and heartfelt rhino love and conservation.

International Rhino Foundation (IRF) and Care for Wild Rhino Sanctuary (CFW) were the two conservation organizations the Monterey Zoo BOD felt contribute greatly to the salvation of this iconic animal and were therefore worthy of the time, effort and expense required to host such an event.

We must first and foremost thank International Rhino Foundation and Care for Wild for allowing us to host this event on their behalf and for traveling so very far to participate in it. Not only did they travel from across the U.S., some of them traveled from Indonesia and South Africa to help us achieve our goal.

Next we thank our many sponsors and donors who so generously contribute to bring the Monterey County children and visitors their first zoological experience of this kind. We realize it wasn't but a month ago that you attended our gala to support the zoo itself and yet you returned to support a conservation effort so near and dear to our hearts. The list is too long to mention but you know who you are, as do we, and such generosity will never be forgotten.

Finally we thank those who contributed to the overhead for this event making this effort that much more successful and assuring that ALL FUNDS contributed by attendees GO DIRECTLY TO THESE TWO RHINO ORGANIZATIONS. As promised, not a dime of the funds raised from this event will go to Monterey Zoo, all will go to IRF and CFW. We've not yet come up with a total for this evening but promise to share it soon in a follow-up post.

You can STILL contribute to this effort by simply visiting https://rhinos.org/donate/ and contributing whatever you're able. There are still matching donation pledges that will DOUBLE your donation. Please mention that you learned of their dedicated and valued efforts from this Monterey Zoo event.
You are also welcome to contact us at Monterey Zoo by emailing [email protected] to contribute to this effort.

Please,,, share our post.

11/03/2023